1. Morning

That morning, a cat died under the bushes by the front steps of the porch. They watched as it breathed heavily, its body making its final attempts to continue on living. Tears welled up in the younger sister's eyes, and her brother motionlessly stared at it for the longest time.

"Look at her." He finally said, "She probably did not want to bother anyone by her death, so she went into the bushes to hide. How sad."

When its heartbeat died down, he took it in his arms, "Let's bury it."

They brought it to the back yard. He retrieved a shovel and began to dig a pit.

"You know what truly sets us apart from all the other animals?" He said, "It's that we bury our dead. If I died, you would bury me too, right?"

She could not bear the thought and shook her head vigorously. He laughed.

"It's alright. You're still scared now." Her brother shrugged, "But it's something I look forward to. In fact, I can't wait for it."

When the hole was deep enough, she placed the cat's body gently into the pit. Then she put some flowers she had found in their garden next to it. She nodded to her brother, who put the dirt back into the hole.

"Death is not the end." Her brother continued, "Someday, we'll see everyone again. We'll see our grandparents, our friends, even each other, in Heaven where no suffering can touch us. Isn't that great?"

She was not sure how to accept his ideology. Something told her it might not be all true. But she nodded anyway. What did she understand?

"I love you, sis."

For a split second, she heard the sound of the shovel whistling through the air. It hit her in the back of her head. She fell forward, her face on the mound of the cat's grave now splattered with her blood. Her body twitched. Again came the shovel. Again. Again. Again.

Her blood splattered his cheeks. He smiled.

"I'll see you later."